The Dangers of Loneliness
by itsjusteasier
Summary: Broken hearts lead to terrible decisions, who will be the one to mend them and right all that has gone wrong?


"Ugh, Alex, why did you give him so much to drink? I don't think he even understands the words coming out of his own mouth." groaned Himuro, trying to tidy up the mess of empty liquor bottles strewn around Kagami's coffee table.

"Eh—but Tatsuyaaa, he and his team won the Winter Cup, he deserves a little celebration! Besides, Taiga's a complete light weight, he only had 2 or 3 shots and a couple of beers!" laughed Alex, making her way over to Kagami who was laying down next to the open fridge, mumbling something about fried gerbils. '_I think he means chicken… hm, I guess it really was too much for him_' she thought, regretting goading Kagami to drink more than he ever has in his life.

As if reading her mind, Himuro added, "Yeah, it may be nothing to you, but the most Taiga's ever drank is a small cup of spiked eggnog that _you_ gave him back in the States one Christmas. He hasn't even had so much as a sip of water since his first drink, his hang over is gonna be terrible," as he made his way over to the kitchen, placing the bottles into a trash bag then proceeding to help Alex carry Kagami to the living room to lay him down on the couch, his bedroom feeling too far away with the amount of weight they were both supporting.

"Well since it's his first time, what else do you expect? Oh well, his teammates were too exhausted to celebrate their win, and it wouldn't have felt the same to go grab lunch or dinner tomorrow to commemorate the event, the high would have worn off! You know Taiga!" replied Alex, sitting herself down on the floor near Kagami's head, Himuro soon joining her. "True," he chuckled, "you couldn't wipe the grin off of his face… I'm happy for him, I didn't realize that basketball meant as much to him as it did to me."

"Hm, yeah, but you were too busy feeling sorry for yourself to realize it, you're still an amazing player, you know? Taiga would probably be the first to tell you that," mused Alex, leaning her head on Himuro's shoulder. "I'm glad you made up with him."

"Yeah," Himuro agreed, his voice low, "I was pretty stupid… but Taiga never saw it like that, he always took me seriously… and all this time I just wanted him to respect me enough to consider me his rival when in fact he saw me as more than that. I was so jealous of his development that I thought there was no way he couldn't be looking down on me, so how could I call myself his older brother? The icing on the cake was when he threw that last game that would have ended our "brotherhood". I saw it as pity, not realizing it was his way of protecting our relationship—"

"God Tatsuya, would you shut up? See, I told you you're a brooder, we both understand what happened and are past it already right? No need to bring up those dark memories, we're brothers again." Grumbled a groggy voice behind Alex and Himuro in english.

"Huh, Tiaga? What happened? I thought you were passed out drunk! A few minutes ago you were mumbling a whole bunch of nonsense!" yelled Alex, a bit peeved at seeing Kagami completely refreshed after a 5 minute nap.

The giggling she got in response from the redhead betrayed his sobriety however, leading her to groan as she leaned her head on the couch he was laying on. "Yeah, laugh now while you still can, tomorrow you're gonna be roaring your hatred to the world for how crappy it's made you feel."

Himuro couldn't help but laugh and as he looked back at Kagami's smiling face, the truth of how much he actually missed his little bro dawning on him, '_He really is like a tiger."_

Noticing the wistful look creeping up on Himuro's face, Kagami groaned, "Seriously you should never drink again, you need to stop brooding already, Tatsuuugh!" but he didn't get to finish his statement as the evenings cocktails came back up to greet him. Luckily, Alex had been expecting this and took the bucket she'd placed at her side earlier right below Kagami's chin as he wretched the entirety of his stomach's contents into it. A couple of camera clicks and flashes went off right beside him, to which Kagami couldn't react to at the moment.

"Haha, Taiga, isn't this great? Your first alcohol induced vomiting! I'm saving these pictures for your team to show them all the fun they missed out on," cackled Alex in glee as she snapped another photo, Himuro shaking his head at her in disapproval as he rubbed circles on Taiga's back.

"Fuck," paused Kagami as he hurled once again, "you! That was horrible!" Getting up, he ignored her laughs and took the bucket with him to the bathroom where he emptied it out into the toilet then letting it rinse out in the shower. Wincing at the taste in his mouth, he decided that brushing his teeth would probably be the best idea he's had all day since passing the ball to Kuroko for the buzzer beater that won the game. He couldn't help but fully grin at the thought, feeling as though he could replay the whole game again. '_I wonder if Alex and Tatsuya would be up for a game right now?_' he thought. Reaching for his back pocket, he pulled his phone out to look at the time, '_1:42am, I guess that is a little late…_' he thought with, letting out a sigh and picking up his toothbrush.

Making his way back to the living room after he finished brushing his teeth, he noticed his guests looking around his kitchen cabinets. "Are you guys hungry?" he asked, as Alex opened his fridge, moving around the containers in the top shelf but not seeing anything she liked. "Feel better? And yeah," she replied, "I want to make something quick, like sandwiches or something."

"Do you have anything Taiga? Are there places that deliver at this time around here?" asked Himuro, opening up and drinking one of the pocari's Alex passed him. "Yeah I'm feeling better, and nah, no delivery at this time… well not that I know of, you know I like cooking my own meals—except for hamburgers," answered Kagami, "You're gonna have to make do with what's here."

"Ugh, I'm sick of burgers, no offense, I know if you could you'd inhale them, but we've had them practically every day this week!" complained Alex as she tossed Kagami a pocari of his own as he glared at her comment.

"If you eat the same way I remember then it's not much different than you inhaling them," teased Himuro as he took out a piece of chocolate cake from the fridge. "Wow this looks good, did you make this?" he asked, already sinking in a fork he'd found on the counter into it and taking a bite, his pleasure at the taste belaying the usual poker face he wore.

"Hm, yeah me and Alex did, you like it? I couldn't sleep last night because I was so excited for the game, so we stayed up for a bit and ended up having the same craving for chocolate," responded Kagami as Alex whooped in cheer over there still being left over cake. "I completely forgot we made this!" she yelled, "Yesterday you ended up eating over half of it."

"It tastes good, who wouldn't want to at the very least eat half?" retorted Kagami, whose stomach began rumbling as he watched his guest make both erotic faces and noises as they ate their slices of cake. "Ah man, is there any more?!" he asked in a panic, "does it taste better after drinking or something? I don't remember it being that good! Ugh, there should still be at least a little bit left!" he yelled once he noticed that the cake tray was empty. Looking back at their plates, Kagami noticed that Alex and Himuro had both taken extra large slices. Becoming very aware of the predatory gleam Kagami's eyes were taking as he watched bite after bite disappear from the cake, Himuro and Alex decided to do something admittedly immature, but completely called for in the face of such a threat—they licked and coughed over the remains on their plates as Kagami looked on in horror.

"Are you serious?" he spluttered, "Geez, I wasn't gonna take them or anything, fine in that case I'll go out and buy myself something to eat," and made his way over to the front door to put on his shoes and coat.

"At this time? You have a ton of food here, just eat what's in your fridge," reasoned Himuro as he finished of his cake.

"Nah, talking about burgers earlier reminded me that Maji's is open till 3, so I'll go buy a couple and come back," replied Kagami. "Eh, have you gone there at this time before?" questioned Alex, worried that Taiga's claims of not being to sleep just before a big game may extend to others day as well. '_Does he have insomnia, or something_?'

"Yeah, I told you, I can't sleep before a game, burgers are my favorite food, and Maji's is a few blocks away. I'd rather go grab a bite than lay there staring at my ceiling." He muttered as he looked away, embarrassed at the memory of his team taunting him for being so excited about a game as though he were still a little kid.

"Are you sure it's only just before a game?" asked Alex, her voice unusually soft. Looking back at her and Himuro, Kagami saw the worry in their faces. Rolling his eyes but not being able to help his smile at knowing they care about him, he eased their fears, "Yeah, relax. You can tell if I haven't slept the night before because my eyes get all red… besides I actually sleep too much, I get in trouble at school for it."

"Baka," grinned Alex, happy to know he's okay. "Alright, want us to come with you then?" she offered as she went to the kitchen to grab the glass of bottles that needed to be thrown out. "We can get rid of these on the way," she stated as she lifted the bag for emphasis.

"Nah it's cool, I'll be quick, besides, Tatsuya's eye looks sleepy," laughed Kagami, aware of the fact that Himuro didn't like people poking fun at him for always covering his left eye.

"Yeah, well come back soon, otherwise I won't be able to fall asleep not knowing what's happened to my dear sweet little brother," jested Himuro, in retaliation.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll call when I'm on my way back then," responded Kagami ignoring the taunt and grabbing the bag from Alex.

"Alright then, we'll wait up for you!" called out Alex as he made his wait out. Feeling the cold winter air hit his face and hands sobered up Kagami even more, who despite having thrown up was still feeling a slight buzz. There were no people out as he made his way down the block, the only sounds to accompany him being the wind and the rattle of the bottles he was carrying. As the wind picked up he belatedly realized that Alex and Himuro would be waiting up much longer than they thought, the Maji Burger he recalled being close by actually being a half hour away. '_Oh well, I don't want to turn back now, I'll just walk fast._'

The clank of the bottles became more aggressive the faster Kagami walked, but he decided to put up with the noise and get rid of the bottles at a recycling center near Maji's. '_Ah man, since I can't sleep when I come out to get these at this time, I don't usually mind the walk, but not that I have people waiting up for me it feels like it's taking forever. Ugh and this wind is getting worse!" _he groaned in discomfort, burying his mouth and nose within the collar of his coat to ease away some of the bite in the frigid air. He was getting pretty close now; he could see the basketball court that he and Kuroko played that was 2 blocks away from the restaurant. '_The walk there may be long, but coming back home will feel pretty fast_.'

As he neared the court he realized he could hear the faint sounds of a basketball hitting the pavement. '_Huh, who could be playing out there in this weather?_' he wondered, not finding this particular time of day a strange time to play because any time he could play was fine with him. Just as he was passing by he took a look inside and realized there was only one player inside the court, and it was someone he knew! '_Aomine? What the fuck? What is he doing playing here?_'

Stopping in his tracks, Kagami watched as Aomine battled with an unseen opponent, using the aggressive unorthodox style that he was known for. Kagami didn't realize he was holding in his breath until he watched Aomine slam the ball into the hoop, holding on to the rim for a few seconds before dropping to the ground and picking the ball up again. Feeling his heart pounding at the prospect of a game, Kagami entered the court and shouted out, "Oi! Want to play?" as he laid his bag down and pulled down the collar of his coat.

Turning around at the sound of an intruder, Aomine glared at the new comer before realizing who he was staring at. "Kagami? What are you doing here, dumbass?" he asked, his irritation flaring up even more than before he'd found the court.

"Didn't you hear, stupid? I asked if you want to play." repeated Kagami as he came to stand before Aomine.

"That doesn't explain what you're doing here, now does it, retard?" huffed Aomine as he considered whether he wanted to put up with Kagami of all people right now. "Isn't it passed your bed time?"

"Well I don't see why it matters but I was headed to Maji's to get some burgers, and don't talk to me about bed times! I live alone." replied Kagami as he grabbed the ball from Aomine's hand and proceeded to try and make a shot only to be blocked by Aomine.

"I'm surprised anyone would think leaving an idiot like you to fend for themselves is a good idea. Hn… Whatever, let's play then."

* * *

There one on one went on much better than Aomine thought, actually grateful that the redhead had shown up when he did. He hadn't been able to sleep due to a confrontation he'd had with Kise after the Winter Cup finals. They have been secretly dating for a while now, since their days at Teiko actually, and no one, not even Momoi, knew about their relationship. Their decision to keep it secret was not a difficult one, what with Kise's job as a model and their shared fame of being members of the 'Generation of Miracles'. While their teammates might not mind that they swung that way, other teams they played against could use this information against them during a match, either by riling them up enough to fight and get kicked off the game or get distracted and play horribly. No thanks, they did not want to deal with that. The rest of the GoM, Momoi and Kuroko weren't informed because they felt it was none of their business, they haven't friends since back during their last year at Teiko, aside from he and Kise, and they certainly weren't now. He and Kuroko were just getting back on good terms but he knew it would take some time to get even close to the way they used to be before.

'_Hm, I'm surprised Kise never told Tetsu anything about us, he's obsessed with him and would do anything to get closer to his beloved 'Kurokochi'—ah I get it now, he probably thinks he'd push Tetsu away if he told him about us…_' thought Aomine dejectedly. '_I really don't get it, why is he so obsessed with Tetsu, I see Kise less and less these days, and he acts like it's completely fine, but if he goes one week without seeing Tetsu he walks around like he's mourning his death, what the fuck kind of shit is that?_' he wondered, exasperated. '_This is the reason we've been arguing lately, he fawns over guys like his fucking sempai and Kuroko, yet the person hes been sleeping with for the past year and a half gets a half assed text every once in a while asking if I wanted to 'hang out' where all we really do is fuck at my place—and it's not like I wanna go on dates or anything lovey dovey like that, but fuck! __**I'M**__ his boyfriend, and he's treating me like I'm his fuck buddy, that little shit… I should have expected everything that happened today'_

Aomine couldn't deny it anymore, he knew Kise was losing interest in him, and while he himself usually doesn't have much of an interest for anyone who can't offer him a decent game, Kise is someone he'd always admired. Kise is one of the few people he's come across that has never even thought of giving up, wanting to match or surpass his skill no matter how much of a toll it took on his body, he couldn't look down on that determination no matter how good or bad of a player Kise was, it was also what attracted him to want to play by Kuroko's side. He never thought the blonde would be the first to get tired of their relationship though. They didn't do much outside of sex and basketball, but he could have sworn Kise was fine with that. Yesterday afternoon had shown different however, him watching Kise cry out in glee when Kasamatsu invited him to eat at a restaurant a few blocks away from where the tournament was being held.

"Of course sempai, I'd love to! I don't get to go out like this very often, it's nice!" Aomine had overheard him say as he walked past them, not even being spared a pacing glance. He had wanted to hang out with the blonde that night since the games were all over and they didn't have much to focus on till school began, but Kise hadn't even thought of him. He instead went home with Momoi, eating at her place. He hid how lousy he was feeling from her well by blaming it on the food, but didn't want to put up a front for longer than he had to and decided to go to his own home after a few hours. He debated whether he should reach out to Kise or not, not wanting his efforts to be in vain, before deciding he didn't really have anything to lose. He was both extremely disappointed and angry when his calls weren't picked up, throwing the phone against his bed in anger, then quickly going to check on it when it ricocheted off the wall, hoping it wasn't broken. Luckily, it was fine, having just a slight scratch that wasn't there before on its side. As nervous energy started to build up inside him, he decided to comfort himself by reading his gravure magazines and calling it a night, would except he found that his magazines were nowhere in sight. He quickly remembered that he'd left them on the roof of the school, and without so much as a second thought, went to retrieve them, his need to divert his thoughts from Kise overriding the ridiculousness behind his actions.

He was happy at the ease with which he was able to get his magazines back, smiling down at the image of Mai-chan gracing the covers, which of course had to be the moment that fueled him to get to a basketball court far enough from any places he knew so that he could lose himself for a few hours and not go out to find Kise and wring his neck.

He was just about to make his way back home when Kise finally returned his calls, ignoring his comment of "_Whats the use of having a phone if you're not gonna use it?_" and quickly rejecting his invitation to hang out the next day. "_Actually Aominechi, I think we should stop seeing each other… I—we don't seem to want the same things and… I'm sorry Aominechi but I have feelings for my senpai, and I think he may feel the same way about me, so I want to go for it. I hope you're not upset, but I think you knew that we weren't really working out, right?_"

Aomine's heart had dropped as soon as he heard the first couple of words, the voice Kise was speaking with tearing at him because he sounded so _nonchalant_, as though he was telling his parents about his day at school rather than breaking up with his boyfriend. '_How can he be so comfortable with it_?' Aomine couldn't help how throaty his voice sounded when he'd replied with "_Sure_," hanging up immediately afterwards. He didn't even know how to feel at the moment, let alone process what he'd just heard. He pretended he didn't feel as his eyes watered, then blaming the chill of the air when the tears spilled down his cheeks, wiping them down and walking as fast as he could to a court. Those were the thoughts still running through his mind when Kagami had found him, but by the end of it he felt some of his heartache had eased; now he was just hungry, and that feeling was a hell of a lot better than sadness.

"Eh, since I've beaten you so many times now, don't you think you owe me a burger from Maji's?" he asked smirking at Kagami, who began to glare at his comment before widening his eyes in what looked like shock and running over to the coat he'd thrown over to some benches. He watched in slight curiosity as Kagami rummaged through is coats pockets, pulling out a cell phone and yelling out a loud "Fuck!" when he looked at its screen. "Shit it's already past 3 am, hold on!" he said as he clicked a few buttons on his phone and placed it up to his ear.

Aomine himself was surprised at the time, he knew he and Kagami couldn't have played more than an hour, tops, so that means he'd been playing on his own there since midnight. '_Shit, Kise got to me more than I thought…_' he pushed away the thoughts as he heard Kagami try to console a voice on the other line, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, okay? I got distracted—no I didn't even get to buy any food! I happened to see Aomine at one of the courts nearby and really wanted to play against him and lost track of time—so what, my energy came back, that game was hours ago...! Yes. _Yes_. Alright, I'm gonna check if any stores are still open, grab a bite and then I'll come back, okay? See you. Yeah, yeah I'll call you, bye!"

"I thought you said you lived alone," commented Aomine as soon as he saw Kagami end his call.

"Hm, oh yeah I do, but my mentor Alex and my bro Tatsuya are staying over tonight," replied Kagami as he made his way back over to Aomine, coat in hand. "Oh, and by the way jackass, just 'cause you beat me doesn't mean you deserve a burger, and Maji's is closed at this time anyway."

Grunting, Aomine made his way over to his own jacket, which he'd carelessly thrown on the floor when he'd arrived at the court, placing it on himself and shivering at how cold it felt from the chill it'd been exposed to. '_Shit I think I'm gonna get sick from this,_' he thought, despite having played in a couple of long sleeved shirts and a sweater—he hated the cold weather, he couldn't enjoy himself the way he wanted. His irritation flaring up again, Aomine glanced back at Kagami, who was now busy picking up some sort of bag, and decided to take out his anger on him, growling out, "Whatever, just get me some food," and made his way out of the court to wait for Kagami to catch up to him.

"Excuse me? You really need to check your attitude, asshole, you can get your own fucking food!" yelled out Kagami as he stomped over to Aomine, causing the bottles in his bag to rattle and Aomine to raise his brow at the noise.

"What the fuck is in that bag?" he asked, reaching for it. Kagami let him peak inside as he answered, "Just some empty alcohol bottles, I was gonna throw them out next to that recycling center next to Maji's."

"Alcohol? What the hell, you drink?" he asked as he pulled the bag from Kagami's hands and began inspecting it thoroughly, "and by the way idiot, a lot of these are still half way full." He pulled out one of the bottles and swished the liquid around as he brought it up to Kagami's face so that he could see.

"Huh—oh, Tatsuya must have wanted to get rid of them before I could drink more, and no I'm not a drinker, tonight was my first time, we were celebrating my teams win." Confessed Kagami. Aomine began to smirk as a plan began to form in his head, "Well since you don't drink, mind if I have these? You don't have to buy me food if you do," he stated, taking two of the smaller bottles to place in his coats pockets and handing the bag back to Kagami.

"YES," he heard Kagami reply as he pulled the zipper of his pocket closed, "I do mind. What are you gonna drink for?"

"The fuck do you care? I just want to," replied Aomine as he began walking away, ignoring Kagami's insult in response. He was surprised to feel him walk up next to him a few seconds later. "Huh? What do you want, don't follow me!" he snapped.

"Ugh, I'm not following you, stupid! I told you, I want to throw these out and besides I'm hungry, so I want to see if the stores are still open." He grumbled, looking embarrassed at Aomine's accusation.

Aomine didn't reply, deciding to focus his eyes straight ahead, comforted by the thought that if he couldn't fall asleep later on with thoughts of Kise, he could at least drink himself to sleep. They reached the Maji's soon enough, being that it was just a few blocks away, and he decided to stick around as Kagami threw out all the empty ones, two quarter filled bottles still remaining. Turning to him, Kagami asked, "Uh, do you think I should empty these before throwing them out?"

Rolling his eyes, Aomine offered to keep them. "No way! You already have those two!" yelled Kagami in response.

"Would you stop being so fucking loud? Damn, it's like you don't know how to calm down, and what, did you develop an addiction over night or something, why can't you part with those two bottles?"

Taking a deep breath, Kagami took a few moments to realize he has been rather loud for the past couple of minutes, not even sure why, just knowing that Aomine tends to irritate the shit out of him. "You already have more than enough to sate whatever the hell it is you're trying to sate, you don't need these on top of them."

"Sate? Huh? What are you talking about idiot, you just said this was your first time drinking, so what would you know about it?" questioned Aomine, his voice low enough to frighten most, but Kagami was not most people and didn't waver.

"Enough to know that if you're gonna drink by yourself it's 'cause you probably don't wanna deal with whatever issues are eating at you," he replied as he made his way past Aomine who had an incredulous look fall upon his face at the claim.

"W-who said I'd be drinking this alone?" he asked as he reached up and turned Kagami around by his shoulder.

"That chick that always comes around to complain about you to Kuroko, she says you don't hang out with anyone."

"Tch, you all need to mind your own fucking business." Aomine didn't think his frustration could grow worse, but life has a way of proving him wrong and shitting all over the things he loved most. He knew that Momoi often went to Kuroko to vent when he wasn't around to listen, but he didn't know she did it in front of Kagami, which meant she probably did it in front of Kuroko's entire team. '_There's no excuse for that_'. His thoughts became more heated with every step he took, Kagami belatedly realizing that it probably wasn't good idea for him to mention that tidbit of information. He became slightly worried, knowing that if Aomine grew angry with Momoi, she'd come crying to Kuroko again and he'd have to deal with being branded the 'chick repellent' again. '_Ugh, what should I do? _' Looking down at his hands that still had the two bottles in their grasp, he shrugged and decided to accompany Aomine, having noticed that all the stores around the area were closed, so he wouldn't be getting a meal anytime soon anyway.

"Oi, I'll join you!" he called out as he caught up with Aomine.

"Shut the fuck up, didn't I tell you to mind your own business? And whats with that offer, you taking pity on me?!" roared Aomine, turning to stare down at Kagami, taking advantage of the inch he held over him in height.

Unfazed, Kagami shrugged his shoulder and answered honestly, "No, I don't really want to get rid of these bottles, and maybe I can convince you not to mention this to Momoi so that she won't go talk to Kuroko, he's gonna take it out on me."

Aomine's anger visually deflates at the words, and he can't help but let out a small laugh, "What, you scared of Tetsu?" he asks, genuinely curious.

"Hell no! But once he starts we always end up getting in fights and our coach makes us, actually, usually just _me_, do extra drills. I'd like to avoid that, ya know?" replies Kagami as he starts walking down the block.

"Hm, why should I make this my problem? I don't exactly enjoy your company," drawled Aomine, having already accepted the predicament but wanting to keep their conversation going all the same, the less he thought of Kise and now Momoi, the better.

"Yeah, well, unlike you, I'd rather drink this with someone, oh by the way, where do you wanna go? I'm cold but don't feel like going back home, Tatsuya and Alex will probably get upset at seeing the bottles."

"Fine, then. Let's go to my house, it's only 3 blocks away."

"Gross, you live that close?" asked Kagami, looking to his side at Aomine as though he'd just witnessed someone eating their own intestines.

"What do you mean gross, stupid? What's wrong with that?"

"You live near me… about half an hour away," Kagami informed, to which Aomine replied, "That's not _that_ close! I'd kill myself if I ran into your ugly face every day!"

"Huh, have you seen yourself Aomine? You're lucky you have Momoi to hang out with, otherwise you'd probably never know what a girls face looks like up close since they'd all be too busy running away from you!" taunted Kagami, who stopped mid laugh when Aomine angrily turned around at him.

"You think so, huh? I don't care about girls other than Mai-chan, and I'm gonna need you to shut the fuck up if you're gonna come into my house, we're here and don't want my parents checking up on us."

"Wait, if your parents are home then why'd we come here, and why were you out so late then?" asked Kagami, concerned.

"They think I'm at Satsuki's, and I went 'cause I felt like it, now shut up," Answered Aomine as he opened up the front door, looking around and seeing that everything was off, the only light coming from the time on the digital clock on the table near the entrance to his house. He slipped off his shoes, aware that Kagami was doing the same. Not trusting Kagami to not be a klutz and fall down, breaking not only the bottles the dumbass never put away but their quiet entrance as well, Aomine quickly pulled him along and dragged him to his upstairs bedroom. Closing the door behind him, Aomine turns on one of the reading lamps on, watching as Kagami winced at the unexpected brightness. '_Hm, mom and dad might notice it if they get up to piss or something_.' With that thought, he turned the light back off, instead choosing to illuminate his room with his laptop's screen that was much more subtle. "Alright, sit down wherever you like" he said as he turned the laptop on.

Kagami took a seat on the floor next to him, placing the bottles in front of them as he took off his coat. "Ah, your house is warm," he smiled, and it was then that he began to feel the day's festivities begin to affect him, becoming sleepy.

Having an inkling as to where that line of thought was going to lead, Aomine quickly turned to him and harshly whispered, "You better not fall asleep bastard! You're the one who wanted to come along so you better stay up, besides you're gonna have to sleep on that not so warm floor otherwise!"

"Alright, alright, geeze… wait but we're probably gonna end up falling asleep either way…" Kagami whispered back, now regretting his grand idea.

Groaning Aomine took one of the bottles, opened it and took a sip, grimacing as the alcohol made its way down his throat. He then placed the bottle at Kagami's lips, taking advantage of the moment Kagami opened his mouth to complain about the indirect kiss and pouring some of the liquid into his mouth.

Spluttering, Kagami coughed as soon as he swallowed what he could, glaring at Aomine and slapping him on the back of the head. '_Oh fuck no,_' thought Aomine, "We are not doing this shit right now idiot," he said lowly, down into Kagami's ear whose head lowered with the force of the blow Aomine landed on him. "I don't want my parent's coming in here."

"Alright asshole, but know I won't leave things like this," growled Kagami, picking up the other bottle and drinking from it instead, watching as Aomine shrugged and drank from the bottle he'd previously made Kagami drink from.

Despite his previous claims, Kagami had had no intention of drinking anymore, the threat of getting into an argument with Kuroko not being the only incentive to push him into inviting himself to Aomine's. Knowing that Aomine was more aggressive than usual, leaving him out so that he could drink himself sick was something he couldn't do, no matter how much they haven't gotten along in the past. When he was a kid, prior to going to America, his mom would drink a lot while his dad was out. He worked all day and wouldn't come home till Kagami was already asleep, so they would only get to see each other at breakfast time. Those moments were rather empty themselves, his dad rushing to go off to work, thanking his mom for the food and his mom trying to wake him up enough to get ready for school. By the time he came back from school, his mom would prepare him something to eat and set his toys out to distract himself with while she went to her bedroom to 'take a nap'. He found out one evening that the naps took place after she cried and drank from a small bottle next to her bed. That day she had been really distracted and made him a quick meal, not realizing that it was a rather small amount for Kagami's appetite and retreated to her room earlier than usual. Kagami was on his way to ask permission to serve himself some of the cookies she'd bought earlier when he heard crying sounds coming from the bedroom. Worried, he opened the door a bit and saw his mom laid out on her side in the fetal position sobbing her eyes out as she clutched a bottle to her chest.

"_Mama? What's wrong? Why are you crying?_" he'd asked, feeling tears well within his own eyes at seeing his mom looking so distraught.

"_Taiga!_ _It's okay, don't worry dear, Mama is just a little sad, she'll feel better soon_." She'd replied, a myriad of emotions expressing themselves on her face: shock at her son discovering her secret, anger at herself for not locking the door better, shame at her son seeing her at her worst, and surprisingly, relief. Relief, at this being something she doesn't have to keep to herself anymore, she could get help now.

It took some time for his mom to let go of alcohol, but the thought of Kagami's frightened face at watching her at her lowest point was enough to push her forward. Eventually Kagami grew to understand what she was going through, suffering from depression at the cause of an unsupportive husband and family and feeling as though she was raising her baby all on her own. After receiving some counseling and talking to her husband, his mom decided she would accomplish the goals she'd set for herself in her younger days and convinced his dad to have them move to America, where their careers took off. A few years into it his dad wanted to come back to Japan, and planned to do so with Kagami alone, the marriage not being strong enough to allow them to continue as a family anymore. Kagami had been expecting it, but at the last moment his dad decided to change his mind and try a bit harder with his mom and their careers, trusting him to take care of himself.

Although his initial experiences with alcohol had been negative, he understood that not everyone drank to numb the pain so to speak, but did so recreationally at parties to further enjoy themselves, as he had done earlier that night with Tatsuya and Alex and held no biased against people who drank. He did however want to look out for people who drank in the same frame of mind as Aomine, not wanting to see anyone head down the same road as his mom. Speaking of which, from his peripheral vision he saw Aomine take another swig of from his bottle and a sudden thought came to mind, "You're not bothered by it? My mouth having been on that, I mean."

"Not really, I don't care, it's not like you eat shit or have an std or something, right?"

"What the hell, no! and I'm a virgin." He replied, a deep blush adorning his face as he looked away and took a small sip from the bottle in his hand.

"It was rhetorical question stupid, those things are obvious," chuckled Aomine. "God you're even blushing like one too."

Rolling his eyes, Kagami turned to him. "So I'm guessing you aren't one then?"

Sighing, Aomine answered back languidly, "Nah, gave it up a long time ago, back in middle school." He didn't really want to talk about this, but the alcohol was helping him relax, not minding the inquiry as much as he would have a few minutes ago.

Surprised, Kagami squeeked out, "Middle school? What the hell Aomine that's too young!"

Amused, Kagami turned to face Kagami as well, not believing he was hearing this from a guy who supposedly grew up in America. "Hah? No way, we were fifteen, it's not like we didn't know what we were doing or either one of us was forced into it."

"Yeah, but… I can't imagine sharing that with someone you're not in love with," replied Kagami, leaning his head on Aomine's bed as his brows furrowed together, trying to imagine himself in the same situation but failing.

A few seconds and swigs of the bottle later, he heard "Who says I didn't love him?"

The silence that encompassed the small room afterwards was deafening, Aomine's heart feeling as though it was trying to pound its way out of his chest, and Kagami's eyes bulging out of their sockets, hearing Aomine's words replay themselves in his head over and over again, trying to comprehend what he'd just heard.

"Y-y-you're g-ga—"

Kagami didn't get to finish, because the next thing he knew he was on his back, Aomine straddling him with one hand tightly placed over his mouth and the other around his throat, his face an inch away from Kagami's own with wild look having overtaken his features.

"You won't say another word Kagami," he uttered harshly, his face coming into closer contact with Kagami's until their noses touched, starring straight down into Kagami's eyes. "You're gonna keep your mouth shut or I will hurt you, okay?"

Kagami nodded his head but Aomine didn't move, continuing to stare into Kagami's eyes searching for some sense of truth behind that small sign of agreement. Not knowing what else to do and sensing that Aomine would grow to be very violent soon if Kagami didn't deter his suspicions, Kagami slowly brought his arms up and wrapped them around Aomine, pulling him down so that he could hug him. It loosened Aomine's grip around his throat and mouth, thank God because it was getting hard to breath, and allowed him to grunt out an, "It's okay."

Not understanding, Aomine let go of Kagami and asked him to repeat himself. "I said it's okay… I don't mind… I'm gay too," he whispered, feeling his heart pound so harshly he was sure Aomine could feel it against his own chest. He'd never spoken those words out loud before.

"W-what? No, but I'm not… you're gay?" he heard Aomine whisper back, leaning his head up to look into Kagami's eyes again.

Biting his lip in anxiousness, Kagami nodded his head and muttered a small, "Yes."

Having lost his anger, Aomine's face took on a look of wonder, making him appear much younger than usual, and allowing Kagami to feel much more comfortable in the wake of his confession. "How… how do you know? How long have you known?" Aomine asked, voice shaky.

"Since I was a kid, but it was confirmed to me through my mentor Alex… she's kissed me and slept in the same bed as me naked more times than I could count but I don't like it at all. No girl has ever made me feel the way I do around guys," replied Kagami with a shrug of his shoulder, unconsciously tightening his arms around Aomine, his thoughts going back to the first time he woke up next to a nude Alex and finding the sight of her to be disappointing, wishing he could see someone like Tatsuya that way instead. He'd freaked out at that, wondering if he had feelings for his brother, but soon realized that he could only share himself that way with a man rather than a woman. The revelation that he was gay didn't bother him, his years in America likely contributed to that, and was comfortable with his sexual orientation. He wasn't comfortable with speaking about it though, knowing how horribly people are mistreated for even supporting gays, let alone being one.

Aomine felt Kagami's grip become stronger and understood the meaning behind it, as well as the worried expression now overtaking his features. He didn't pull away but rather reached around and held Kagami in his own embrace, murmuring, "You're only the second person I've heard say that… and to be honest I'd never have expected it from you… um, thanks. For telling me. I guess."

Kagami couldn't help it, what started off as a giggle end up as a roar of laughter Aomine had to try and muffle in fear of his parents hearing. "Damnit, Kagami, shut up, I don't want us to get caught. Considering what you just told me, you do know how bad it would look if my parents walked in and saw that I sneaked a guy over right?"

Kagami's laughter died off quickly at that and Aomine's brows scrunched at the blush that marred Kagami's cheeks. "What, why are you blushing?"

"No reason… you just made it sound like you snuck your boyfriend over or something." Kagami answered, trying to pull away from Aomine so that he could hide his face.

"Haha, aw, Kagami, do you want to be my boyfriend?" teased Aomine, not letting Kagami escape by hugging him tighter to his body, turning so that he could pull Kagami on top of him.

"Aomine! Let go you fucking asshole, I didn't mean it that way!"

Laughing, Aomine shook his head, his thoughts already forming a plan, "Nope, not until you admit you want me to be your boyfriend."

"Fuck no! Actually, you know what, maybe I would if you weren't such a piece of shit!" Kagami gritted out through clenched teeth, struggling to try and pull him and Aomine apart, but the bastard is just as strong as he is.

"So what you're saying is, if I were to treat you nicer you'd agree to be my boyfriend?" murmured Aomine right into Kagami's ears, his deep voice making Kagami stop his ministrations.

"You're… you're serious?" he asked, looking down into Aomine's eyes, which were already looking into his own intently.

Reaching up with one of his hands, Aomine softly ran his thumb across Kagami's cheek, watching as Kagami tried to understand what was going on. His thumb slowly brushed across Kagami's lower lip and just as he let a gasp out at the touch, Aomine reached up and kissed him.

It was chaste at first, but when he felt Kagami place his own lips on him, he wrapped his arms around him even tighter and deepened their kiss. Kagami became breathless, panting into Aomine's mouth, allowing Aomine the opportunity to reach into Kagami's mouth with his tongue, tasting him. Kagami pulled back at that, and for the first time Aomine could see how dazed he'd become, the lust evident in his eyes, but beginning to wane in light of what he was doing and with whom.

"Wait, Aomine, we can't—"

"I'm serious Kagami, I want you," interrupted Aomine, initiating their kiss once again which Kagami reciprocated to in kind after a bit of hesitation that was quickly solved by the feel of Aomine's knee pushing up against his hardening arousal.

The sound of a phone vibrating on the floor a few feet away was ignored by both.

* * *

A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first KnB fic and I really hope you're enjoying it so far. If you have any comments about it please let me know in a comment or pm, I'd really appreciate any criticism or advise! I haven't figured out a schedule to update on, but I'm extremely interested in this series, so I'll be coming back to this story frequently.


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